The FAMU Center for Caribbean Culture will host its bi-annual African-Caribbean Concert in Lee Hall Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
The Afro-Caribbean Concert is no stranger to FAMU’s campus as it has been occurring for at least ten years; each year being bigger and better than the previous year.
Organizers for the event said the purpose of the Afro-Caribbean Concert is to offer a basic understanding of African and Caribbean culture through music and dub poetry.
According to www.wikipedia.com, dub poetry is a form of performance poetry consisting of spoken word over reggae rhythms, that originated in Jamaica in the 1970’s.
Various performers willparticipate in this year’s concert.
The highlight of the concert will be renowned dub poet Mutabaruka and Cherry Natural.
According to www.mutabaruka.com, the official Mutabaruka Web site, his poetry, “tells a story common to most black people born in the ghetto.”
With a total of nine albums, “Mutabaruka continues to reflect all aspects of human nature with lyrics that are powerful, insightful and intelligent,” according to the official Web site.
The other dub poet, Cherry Natural has been performing poetry since 1979.
Jan DeCosmo, director of the Center for Caribbean Culture, hopes the event will fulfill two goals at once.
“Students can learn about vibrant cultural expressions from African and the Caribbean,” DeCosmo said. “The idea is to get everyone participating.”
Kerstin Thompson, a third-year SBI student from the Virgin Islands said, “the concert gives students a little taste of dance ,and music that is not common everyday.”
Thompson said the performance is something to look forward to.
This year’s concert is actually part of a four-day conference titled Tallahassee’s Jamaican Oral Expression: Dub Poetry and Folk Philosophy.
The Conference, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the R.A. Gray Auditorium at 500 S. Bronough Street.
On Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until noon, there will be a Pan-Afrikan Oral Expression with Clem Marshall.
From 2-4:30 p.m., there will be a presentation on Folk Philosophy and Dub Poetry with Mutabaruka. And from 7-10 p.m., there will be a viewing of the movie “Sankofa” followed by a discussion.
On Sunday from 9:30-noon, there will be a presentation on Word, Sound & Image: Rastafari Reasonings with John Homiak and then from 2-4:30 p.m. there will be a presentation on Woman and Word with Cherry Natural.
DeCosmo believes that when you learn something about other cultures, you in turn learn something about yourself.
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